This blog describes and tracks an annual study abroad program for occupational therapy students and occupational therapists to Ghana, West Africa. The program is run through the department of occupational therapy in the school of Allied Health Professions at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Why blog?

Ok, so deep breath, here it goes...I am blogging!

I am a firm believer that if you are going to ask someone else to do something (and even tell them that it is good for them), then you better be willing to do it yourself. So here I am in the world of bloggers because I have decided to require students to set up a blog as part of an assignment for our upcoming study abroad course.

Why blogging, some of you might ask? Well, at VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University), faculty are continuously encouraged to use new technology to enhance student learning. From what I can tell so far, blogging seems a lot like writing a reflective journal, only you are making your thoughts and reflections public for all to read. I am hoping that this process helps to motivate students to engage in active reflection and also to share with others the work we will be doing as part of this course (details to come).

For my part, I will use this blog to share my own reflections on the growing pains involved in running my first study abroad course and taking small steps towards improving the lives of children in a developing country. I truly hope that others will be able to use the information we share either to set up similar programs or simply to learn from our mistakes...

1 comment:

My name is Tearrie and I am the publicity associate at Hesperian, publisher of both Disabled Village Children and Helping Health Workers Learn. I came across your blog today via Google alerts and I am happy to read that you have found these resources to be very beneficial. I would also like to inform you that many of our books are available for free download on our website at www.hesperian.org and have been translated into more than 80 languages, one of which includes Hausa. Check it out when you get a chance.

Best wishes on your endeavors,HesperianVisit our NEW Spanish-language website: http://espanol.hesperian.org

About Me

I am an associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. I lead an annual study abroad trip to Ghana with occupational therapy students and clinicians. Part of their assignment is to blog about their experiences before, during and after the trip. I have set up this blog to 1) reflect on this course and what I want us to accomplish as OT's in Ghana and 2) to share our experiences with others interested in working in Ghana or other developing countries.